KINGSTON, Jamaica — The People’s National Party (PNP) says it lends qualified support to the state of public emergency effort declared in the parish of St James and will await the regulations governing the operations, which are required to be placed before the Parliament.

In a press release today, PNP said that based on the spiralling crime rate in Montego Bay, the failure of the Zone of Special Operation to arrest the number of murders, blatant lawlessness and continued threat to life, the city had reached a near state of anarchy, which could not be allowed to persist.

“The people of Jamaica, including the Opposition, have been calling for a response from Government throughout the past year. Some 1617 Jamaicans were murdered in 2017 and already more than 63 persons have been killed since the start of this year”, said party president Dr Peter Phillips.

He also noted that the main victims of this “wave of unchecked criminality” are the ordinary citizens of St James who have been abused and murdered in this atmosphere of wanton violence.

The party also insisted that a robust, accessible and viable mechanism to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens during the operations must be in place.

“Every effort must be made by the security forces to be vigilant, courageous, and determined in confronting the criminal threat, even as they are protective of the rights and interests of the law abiding citizens of the parish,” the PNP said.